Wrench



H. B. WINTER.

WRENCH.

l APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 1I, 1918. 1,341,094.

Patented May 25, 1920,

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Specification of Letters Patent.

WRENCH.

Patented May 25, 1920.

Application led September 11, 1918. Serial No. 253,534.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY B. WINTER, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Punx'sutawney, in the county of Jefferson and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWrenches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in wrenches, and has for its object toprovide a wrench wherein a fixed jaw is provided with a movable jawadjustable toward and from the fixed jaw with a coarse and a fineadjustment, the said adjustments being independent of each other.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of the improved wrench, with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal section,

with the movable jaw in tilted position to release the coarseadjustment;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of' Fig. 1, looking in the directionof the arrows ad'acent to the line;

jaw and the adjacent portion of the shank.

In the embodiment of the invention Shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the improvedwrench comprises a shank 1 having at one end a fixed jaw 2 which may beintegral therewith, and having at the other end a grip 3 which may be ofwood or like material suitably connected to the shank.

The shank has a guide groove 4 on that face adjacent to the grippingportion of the jaw 2, the said groove extending from near the grip tonear the fixed jaw, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and within this groove isarranged a rack bar 5, the said bar having two series of teeth 6 and 7,respectively. At the teeth 7 the bar is reduced as shown, so that theseries of teeth 7 will lie closer to the shank than the series 6. Themovable jaw 8 has a cuff or bearing 9 which fits loosely over the shankto permit the movable jaw to slide freely thereon. There is some playbetween the shank 1 at the end adjacent to the fixed jaw and the bearing9, and a greater degree of play between the same and the other end ofthe bearing so that the mov able jaw 8 may be tilted to a relativelylarge ig. A is a top plan view of the fixed` extent with respect to theshank, as indicated in Fig. 2.

A plate spring 11 is secured to the bearing 10 in such position that itwill bear against the shank between the bearings 9 and 10 and willnormally act to hold the movable jaw 8 with the axes of its bearings 9and 10 parallel with the axis of the shank 1, that is, in the positionof Fig. 1.

A worm 12 is jonrnaled on a ferrule 13 at the inner end of the grip 3,and this worm engages the series of teeth 7, to move the rack bar 5toward the fiXed jaw. A block 14: is connected to the movable jaw, beingarranged within a recess at the end thereof' remote from the fixed jaw,and this block carries a tooth 15 which is adapted to engage the teethof the series 6, and it will be noted that these teeth incline towardthe fixed jaw, while the teeth 15 incline in the Opposite direction.

In use, in order to attain the coarse adj ustment, the movable jaw istilted in the manner shown in Fig. 2, to release the tooth 15 from theteeth 6, and the movable jaw is moved toward the fixed jaw to engage theobject. When so engaged, the tooth 15 is permitted to engage the teeth6, after which the fine adjustment may be attained by means of the worm.12.

In order to release the wrench from the object with which it is gripped,it may be necessary to utilize the fine adjustment, namely, the worm 12,at first. As soon as the movable jaw is loosened it is grasped andtilted, as shown in Fig. 2. Now the cam lever 16 will ride over theteeth 6 when the movable jaw is moved toward the grip. Due to the actionof the cam lever, the possibility of accidental engagement of the teeth6 and 15 in the opening movement of the movable jaw is greatlydecreased, inasmuch as such engagement of the cam 16 and teeth 6 tendsto keep the movable jaw in tilted position.

I claim:

A wrench comprising a shank having at one end a fixed jaw, a rack barmounted to slide on the shank toward and from the fixed jaw, means formoving the rack bar in either direction, a movable aw having a bearingengaging over the shank and the rack bar and having a tooth for engagingthe teeth of the rack bai' and moved to release position by tilting themovable jaw, a spring for yieldingly holding the tooth in engagementwith the teeth, :t spring pressed eem lever mounted in the movable jawand movable into operative and inoperative position bv the movement ofthe mov- :Lble janv from Lmnd toward the iixed janv, Said Cam level`when in operative position adapted to Contact with the teeth duringl themovement of the movable jaw away :ifi-om the fixed mv.

HENRY BUl-lli ll'llN'llClt.

